xThe Caped Crusader's "Batman: Arkham City," due while in the fall for PS3,
xbox 360 controller and PCs, joins follow-ups within the "Zelda," "Gears of War" and "Mass Effect" franchises.
"2011
looks huge for brand new releases, possibly even fuller than 2010,"
said Leigh Alexander of industry trade site Gamasutra.com. "Many beloved
franchises growing sequels their fans happen to be waiting around for
for long periods."
Despite last year's high-profile hit follow-ups just like "Call of Duty: Black Ops," "Halo Reach" and "New Super Mario Bros.
buy wii controller," total industry sales were down 6 percent, at $18.6 billion, in keeping with market tracking firm The NPD Group.
While
publishers will again lean heavily on sequels to proven titles, some
surprises have been in the pipeline. Due Feb. 22 is definitely an
over-the-top, first-person sci-fi shooter, "Bulletstorm" ($60, PS3,
Playstation 3 and PCs; ages 17-up). "L.A. Noire" (
ps3 controller and Xbox, no price or rating), a detective thriller from Rockstar, developers of "Grand Theft Auto," arrives May 17.
"Sequels
will not be necessarily an awful thing, however , when there weren't
games like 'L.A. Noire' coming, it becomes much more concerning," said
Brian Crecente of game-news site Kotaku.com. "You check out big titles,
every a single sufferers are writing about has numbers following a
title."
Sequels do improve on past games. Already out,
"LittleBigPlanet 2" ($60, all ages, for PS3) adds environments and lets
players design his or her games. "Gears of War 3," due this are seduced
by Wii, has female squad member characters ncluding a five-player
multiplayer mode. "The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword," due later this
year for Wii, heightens the sword-wielding action.
Other major threads in 2011 titles:
?
Body movin'. More games will need advantage Microsoft's hands-free
Kinect controller for Xbox 360 elite and Sony's PlayStation Move "as
developers have more informed about what those controllers are able to
do," said journalist Chris Morris. "Dead Space 2" ($60, out Tuesday,
PS3, Xbox 360 console, PCs, ages 17-up) includes second game "Dead
Space: Extraction" on PS3 makes use of the Move controller. "Michael
Jackson: The knowledge," already out for Wii, is born for Kinect and
Move April 12.
? 3-D games. Sony has several 3-D-ready
PS3 games, including "Killzone 3" ($60, Feb. 22, ages 17-up),
"Motorstorm Apocalypse" ($60, April 12, ages 13-up) and "Uncharted 3:
Drake's Decision" (Nov. 1, not even rated). Nintendo's 3DS handheld
system ($250, due March 27) will deliver 3-D games without necessity for
special glasses.